OpenStreetMap data is made available for reuse under the Open Database License (ODbL) share-alike license for data. The switch from creative commons license to ODBL took place on 12 September 2012 and followed a lengthy process during which the license was developed. Data published before 12 September is still available under the old CC-BY-SA license. This process was directed by the OpenStreetMap Foundation and documented in their minutes of meetings. The license was developed by the Open Knowledge Foundation.

Most contributors agree to the new terms, however some did not and some 1% of data was lost in the conversion. Considerable efforts have been made by the community to minimise this data loss and to reinstate content which was removed.